§ 22-24-2 — Definitions

(a) "Authority" means the West Virginia economic development authority established in article fifteen, chapter thirty-one of this code.

(b) "Director" means the director of the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection.

(c) "Division" means the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection as established in article one of this chapter.

(d) "Eligible borrower" means a small business as defined in subsection (h) of this section that is required or needs to conduct a qualifying environmental project as defined in subsection (g) of this section. An eligible borrower also means a small business that desires to refinance the remaining balance of a debt that was incurred between January 1, 1992, and until two years after the effective date of this article, and that meets, or would have met, at the time of the original loan application, the requirements of this subsection. The refinancing option is not available for applications received by the authority more than three years after the effective date of this article. Funds available for refinanced loans may not, at any time, exceed forty percent of the total funds available plus the outstanding balance of funded loans.

(e) "Environmental project" means:

(1) Any environmental equipment purchases and installations of the equipment;

(2) Any associated transportation, technical or consulting services for installation or modification of environmental equipment;

(3) Any equipment, purchase and installation necessary to effect a process change that in the director's judgment yields significant environmental benefits; or

(4) Any combination of subdivisions (1), (2) or (3) of this subsection.

(f) "Pollution prevention" means the reduction or elimination of pollutants at the source through process modification, material substitution, in-process recycling, reduction of raw material use or other source reduction or elimination opportunities.

(g) "Qualifying environmental project" means an environmental project as described in subsection (e) of this section that is to be undertaken at a location in West Virginia and used for the purpose of:

(1) Effecting pollution elimination, minimization, prevention, recycling or abatement measures;

(2) Improving conditions or operations environmentally or substantially improving compliance with local, city, state, interstate or federal rules, regulations or laws pertaining to the environment and human health; or

(3) Purchasing equipment to establish environmental information, computing, consulting or laboratory services.

(h) "Small business" means a business that:

(1) Is properly registered with the appropriate agencies to do business in this state;

(2) Is actively conducting business in this state;

(3) Is current with all workers' compensation and unemployment premiums and state taxes; and

(4) Employs less than fifty full-time employees as defined in subsection (i) of this section within the entire company, business or corporation inside and outside this state.

(i) "Total number of full-time employees" means all full-time employees, plus all part-time employees counted as full-time employee equivalents, plus all full and part-time equivalent employees providing any type of service by contract or by any other arrangement.

Legislative History

1999 Reg. Sess., SB549; 1998 Reg. Sess., SB96